Haunted America: Officer Down

"This is the Peter Griffin House. Yes, I know," I said. "It was built in 1904. The windows on top and the pillars out front came from the Queen's Mansion, which I mentioned earlier in the tour."

Chloe and her friend Charlotte watched from the front of the tour. I love doing the summer tours, walking through Lock Haven and showing the historic buildings. There are things that nobody else knows, and you can only learn them on my tours. Of course, Chloe knows them all already. When I'm out on a tour, it's the closest anyone gets to seeing me at my most authentic.

"This was also the house where a murdered hid out in 1934," I said. "Lock Haven has only ever had one police officer killed in the line of duty. Up in Renovo, they bump them off every hour on the hour. But here, we've only had one. Officer Robert Robert Probst was shot by Harry Mayo, a criminal who was caught in the act of burglarizing a building down on....."

I trailed off. Chloe looked at me for a moment.

"What just occurred to you?" she asked.

"The building where Probst was shot," I said. "I think that was Lex and Jay's place."

Back at home, I went straight to my office. I love when this stuff happens. I took the Highland Cemetery index and found Probst''s grave, which gave me the date---August 22, 1934. Then I went to the newspaper archives and looked up that date, and there it was on the front page. Officer killed in the line of duty.

He was shot in Willard's Alley by a man caught in the act of breaking into a building. The Clinton Trust Building.

I was right. It was Lex and Jay's place. LHPS base.

"Tonight's the anniversary," I said. "Ninety-two years ago tonight, Officer Robert Probst was shot while confronting Harry Mayo in a burglary of this apartment. According to the autobiography of the defense attorney, it was a speakeasy at the time." Sometimes when I do this, I feel like a TV doctor looking at the clipboard and summarizing the patient's issues. "Probst was rushed to the Teah Hospital, and died on the operating table. Mayo hid out in the Griffin Building, but was later arrested and served twenty years in jail. He died soon after his release."

I was sitting in the living room. Ashlin had a birthday celebration, and Chloe was in Florida, so it was myself, Lex, and Jay. Lex's nephew, Liam, was sitting on the couch; Lex had invited him for the night.

"How do you know all this stuff?" he asked me.

"It's all out there to find, if you know where to look. I look for deeds at the courthouse to find out who owned a property, and I can find old newspapers online or att he college library. I have a lot of books about the area at home in my office."

Like any ten-year-old, he had a very limited attention span for the research. He waved an EMF detector near Jay. "It says you're possessed, Aunt Jay."

"It's only doing that because you're waving it around," she said. "You have to hold it pretty still."

"People getting possessed is one of those things that they love in the movies, but it's not really like that," I said. "You don't see that in real life."

"Sometimes people get possessed."

"Without sounding like I'm down on them," said Lex,"Some people have mental issues. If they don't take medication, they can seem possessed. It's where people get a lot of ideas about possession, but it's not really happening in real life."

Lex has learned well. I said,"By the way, Jay, you know how you get headaches practically every investigation?"

"Yeah."

"You know that black bag I carry with the extra stuff in it? In the first aid kit, there's now a little green pill container labelled 'Jbuprofen.'"

Lex and Jay both laughed hysterically.

Liam said,"I want to be a ghost hunter."

"We can train you," I said. "We'll teach you how to do it right."

Liam walked around with the KII meter for a while, and found a big spot for EMFs in the middle of the room. He said,"I'm getting a ghost here."

I tried it with the all-in-one, and got higher readings than I was expecting. Jay asked,"Are there any wires in the ceiling?"

I looked up. "I doubt it. You have no overhead lights up there. Before we lose the light, I think I want to go outside and check where the power lines come into the building. Maybe there's a junction box. I'll be back."

I walked outside, into the parking lot. Immediately I could see that there weren't any power lines close enough to give me EMF readings where I'd been. The closest thing was a parking lot light that was still too far. 

Clouds were gathering up above.

I walked to the back of the building, where there was a pole and the power lines running into the place. Way too far to give me readings; in fact I had the be within five feet of it before the meter lit up at all. I went back inside.

"Can we get ice cream before we start?" asked Jay. "I'm hungry. I want some pretzel rolls."

"How do you do that?" I asked. "We just ate. I got paperbacks that weigh more than you."

She blushed. "I don't know, I'm just hungry."

"Well, I'm not gonna say no to ice cream."

My pineapple sundae was pretty good. Back at the Clinton Trust Building, I said,"Okay, get EMFs and temp readings, and make sure you get some photos. Everyone get a baseline before we start an EVP session."

We checked things throughout the apartment. The EMFs were still high in the living room. I got out my laser thermometer and got a baseline of about seventy-three while the laser was chased by several cats.

"Let's sit down for an EVP session," I said. "Lex, you got your recorder?"
She held it up. "Liam, we're gonna have to settle down some for this one, okay?"

We all settled in, as you do before an EVP session. Jay set up her REM pod on the coffee table. Lex went around the room and set the KII meters up so we could see them, and I set my shoulder bag in the couch where I could reach it. 

"Want me to go live?" Jay asked. She's been streaming parts of our investigations lately, 

I nodded. "Go ahead."

She set her phone up and turned it on.

"Is there anyone here?" I asked.

We gave it a couple of seconds, the way we always do. I said,"Can you tell us your name?"

"Can you go near our devices?" asked Jay. "If you can make the lights go off, we'd like that."

"You have the right to remain silent," I said. "If you give up that right....Actually, I'm pretty sure Officer Probst died before Miranda warnings."

Lex nodded. "I think so." She looked at the phone, and smiled. "Chloe's watching from Florida."

"Ah, kid, I love you," I said.

"Robert," said Liam,"Can you make the yellow lights go off?"

"Lou, try the thermometer over here," said Lex. "I'm getting a cold spot right behind me."
I aimed the laser thermometer at her, attempting not to get her mauled by several cats. "Yeah. I got a temp drop to sixty-nine there."

"Here, feel my hands."

I moved to Lex, felt the backs of her hands. "Pretty warm, right? Now feel the back of my arm."

I reached around and touched the back of her arm. "Yeah, I feel it. It's cold."

"Robert, if you're here," said Liam,"Can you make it go to yellow?"

The REM pod went off, with nothing near it. At the same moment, the cat ball on the coffee table flickered. Jay had sprung for the elaborate REM model that included a flat voice that says,"Ghost disturbance detected."

Jay gasped.

"Going to camera," I said, and snapped some photos. "Test it."

Jay stomped on the floor, which did not make the cat ball flash. I said,"Okay, not us, then."

The cat ball by Lex went off, flashing red lights. Jay moved that way and came down hard on the floor, but couldn't duplicate it.

"Do you guys have downstairs neighbors?" I asked.

"Only on the other side of the building," said Lex.

"Okay. Cause it just occurred to me that we're stomping on the floor all night."

There was a lightning flash outside, and we heard a roar of thunder. Lex said,"Storm's coming."

"That could be good for us, though," I commented. "Sometimes ghosts act up during thunderstorms. I know Ida usually does."

Liam was looking at the EMF detector. "I have a question. Can someone make the yellow lights go off?"

He was hitting the "make the ghost do the lights" thing a little hard, but I didn't have any better ideas. 

"They can't always do that, Liam," explained Lex. "It takes energy, and it's not like it always happens."

"Basically," I said,"You have to put everything together. All the results, the EMFs, audio, photos, everything you get. You add it all up and then come to a conclusion."

"Can you come near the REM pod again?" asked Jay. "You can use my energy."

"See, this is why you get headaches all the time," I said.

"Whoa! Did you see that?" Lex said suddenly. Each of the KII meters had gone to yellow, quickly, one at a time in a series. "It just went all the way around the room at once like that."

"Going to camera," I said. "I can't think of any reason that would do that."

"I'm getting chills," said Jay.

It was getting late. I sat on the floor with Lex. Jay was on the couch, reviewing video on her phone, and Liam was still playing with one of the KII meters.

"So what do you think?" Lex asked me.

"I'd rate this one a three point five, under certain conditions," I said. "You have to factor in the anniversary, and the weather. But we did get a lot of activity."

She nodded. "Fair."

"You remember at the beginning of the summer, when I said that it was going to be a busy one because of the anniversary?" I asked. Lex nodded. "It's been pretty busy."

"It's been a good one," she agreed.

"It has," I said. "And the year's not over yet. We have twenty-five years since 9-11 coming up, and my annual haunted tours, and Lock Haven's anniversary. Plus all the requests for investigations we're going to get."

She grinned. "Gonna be a good time."
I grinned back. 

"It's just beginning."

Haunted America: Party Like It's 1888

I'd have to look this up to make sure, but I think I have the world's only under-eighteen ghost-hunting dance group.

Like so much else about my life, that didn't exactly happen on purpose. We'd signed Paul up for dance classes during Covid, figuring it as a reasonably safe way to get him some social interaction. When he'd started doing competitive dance, I'd needed something to do in the down time. As always, I'd done some paranormal investigating, and the girls in Paul's class loved it and liked to participate.

Every year, after things had wound down, there was an annual picnic for the families. This year it was Riverview Park, in Woodward Township. I'd finished my hot dog and a couple if different pasta salads when little Juliet popped up beside me.

"Can we do it yet?" she asked.

I grinned. "We can do it now, if you like. I'll get my stuff out of the car. You go check and see if anyone else wants to help out."

I walked to the car and got out my stuff. I'd promised a couple of the kids that I'd bring all the best equipment, so it included my black investigating bag and the briefcase. I carried it back, where Juliet had rounded up five other girls.

"We're gonna ghost hunt?" asked Eloise.

I nodded. "We are."

"Yay! I've been waiting for this."

I opened my bag and handed out the equipment. "Okay. Who wants the EMF----"

"Me," said Elose, and grabbed one.

"Got a thermal imager here, too. Anyone?"

"Oh, I remember you showed me this at your house," said Juliet.

I gave out all the EMF detectors and laser thermometers, and then said,"I think we should do some checking around down there, that way. There used to be a haunted hotel over there. It was built by Robert Hanna, who was born in 1776. Mostly it dealt with lumbermen going through the area. There's a story of a man killed in a fight in the hotel, and his blood was on the stairs. They said it never came out. When the hotel was a ruin, little kids used to sneak in to look at the blood stain."

"This is scary," said Elise.

"Well, you get used to it," I said.

"My brother called earlier," I said to Michelle. "You up for a family reunion?"

"You're having a family reunion?"

"I'm invited. I'm told it's my cousin Amy setting it up, probably so she gets to be in charge of something. Amy's always been like that."

"Will your cousin Stephen be there?"

"Jon said he would."

"Okay, let's go."

I turned to Paul. "Want to go to a family reunion, little man?"

"With all my cousins?"

"Probably some of them. It's on the farm."

"Yeah!"

The Pine-Loganton Road is said to be the most haunted road in Clinton County. It runs through three townships, beginning in McElhattan and ending in Loganton, and has a whole series of haunted stories along it, Bigfoot sightings, a haunted cemetery on each end, and a horned serpent to the south. And every time LHPS gets a little bored, we go out and do some practice out there.

I walked through the forest with Jay and Lex, all carrying EMF detectors. They'd brought along a friend, Tori, who was young and interested in paranormal investigation. 

"Getting a little bit over here," said Lex. "Going to yellow."

"I'm getting temperature readings," I said, and dug in my pouch for the thermometer. Jay set up her new REM pod, which burbled a little and flashed some colored lights.

"The anniversary of Ida's suicide is coming up," I said. "Next Wednesday."

"Aww," said Jay.

"I usually do a little investigating around that time," I said. "She was born in 1888, and died in 1905. We do seem to have a little more activity this summer because of the 250th, and I'm wondering if that extends to Ida. I was thinking I might pitch a tent in the backyard and sleep out there, near the porch where she died. See if anything happens."

Lex grinned. "That sounds fun. Not for me, of course, but for you."

"Well, I'll let you know. I've actually wanted to do this all summer, and I just haven't had the chance yet."

"You guys want to go check out, what is it, that cemetery in McElhattan?" asked Jay.

"Quiggle Cemetery?" I suggested.

"Yeah, that's it. I want to see the grave of the Fair Play Man who signed the Tiadaghton Declaration of Independence."

"I'm always up for a cemetery," I said. "Let's go."

"So," Dad said,"Would you like an e-bike?"

It was an unexpected question, but my dad was like that. 

The family reunion was great. We were out on the old family farm, with some food on the grill. My brothers were there. My cousins Amy and Megan had arranged the whole thing, and cousins Joe, Michael, Chris, and Stephen had shown up with various spouses and kids, some of whom I hadn't seen in decades. Paul had bonded with some of his second cousins over squishies, and they were now talking together.

"Sure," I said. "Why, you got one?"

Dad nodded. "I have one in the barn that I can't use anymore, so I thought you'd like to have it."

"Thanks, Dad," I said. "I'll use it."

"Dad," said Paul,"Can you ask Uncle Jon how much it is to do the painting?"
I smiled. "He says that's free. Cousin Amy brought stuff for the kids to paint. Have fun."

Paul joined two of his cousins, Mikey and Scarlett, at the painting table, and I circulated a bit and sat down with Amy and Megan.

"So your mom died in 2003," Amy said to me.

I nodded. "May fifth. It was close to the time cousin Wendy died; I remember thinking that I didn't get much of a chance to grieve for Wendy, because there was so much at the time. I adored Wendy."

"Yeah," agreed Megan,"You two were close."

Cousin Michael joined us. "You know, I have a co-worker who knows you." he said to me. "She's from Lock Haven and read your articles. She was really surprised when I mentioned you were my cousin."

I laughed. "Yeah, I get that a lot. People know me; I can't get through the grocery line without someone coming up to talk about ghosts. I get a lot of the crazies, with what I do."

My cousin Chris, whom I hadn't seen since he was a toddler, asked,"What do you do?"

"I'm a paranormal investigator." I gave him the LHPS card.

"Oh, that's interesting," he said. "How did you get involved in that?"

"Almost twenty years ago, I was working at a museum, and a woman was starting a team. She came and asked me for historic information, and was impressed enough to try to recruit me. I told her I didn't have time to get involved full-time, but I could advise. And then I got involved, and when the second team leader stepped down, I took over. Been the field leader ever since. We have five members on the team now."

"I wouldn't be able to do that," Chris said. "Well, I would until I saw my first ghost. Then I'd be done."

I grinned. "You get used to it. Our house is haunted by a girl who killed herself on our porch in 1905."

"Really?" asked Savannah, one of my cousin's kids.

"Yeah, the anniversary is coming up. I was thinking of camping out in the backyard, near the porch where she died, and seeing what happens."

"Do you do this kind of thing a lot?" asked Chris.

"All the time. Especially lately; it's a busy year because of the 250th anniversary. We normally get three or four good invesigations a year, but this year we're already at about nine."

He nodded. "I'm going to have to check this out," he said.

It was the night of the anniversary. A hundred and twenty-one years since Ida had killed herself on my back porch.

Around six PM I went outside and put the tent up. I have a small ultralight tent that I've been using since maybe 2004, and every year I look at it and decide to try and get one more summer out of it. It's held up well, and I have no complaints. One of these summers, it's going to fall apart, and I' going to hate to see it go.

I set it up in a small grassy area within sight of the porch. Then I went up to my office and grabbed the blue ultralight sleeping bag, brought it down, and threw it in the tent. I packed a sweatshirt, a book, my EMF detector, and a camera--No reason to overpack if I'm going to be right in the backyard.

I took it all down and out it in the tent.

Ready.

After dark, I turned on the porch light and sat outside reading for a while. I often did this on the anniversary. I had the EMF detector on next to me on the porch railing.

Around eleven-thirty, about the time she'd died, I set down the book. Quietly, I said,"Hi, Ida. You here?"

Nothing yet. I kept an eye on the EMF.

"Just wanted to let you know I'm here. Been doing this every August for twenty-three years now. I know you died a long time ago, but I remember the anniversary. Always."

A spike on the detector. Up to orange for several seconds, and then down.

I smiled.

"There you are. Happy anniversary, Ida."

Haunted America: Spirits of '76

There is nothing like a cookout. I sat with Lex, Jay, and Ashlin around our fire pit in the backyard, within view of the porch where Ida had killed herself in 1905. Paul was bouncing on the trampoline nearby. 

We'd decided to have a little post-birthday cookout together. We were roasting hot dogs, and Lex had brought her barbecue macaroni and cheese in a crock pot, for which I'd run an extension cord out the window. We'd been discussing some plans to investigate Gettysburg sometime.

"Just so everyone knows," I said,"I'm going on our annual camping trip next weekend. I'll be away from Friday to Monday. If anyone needs me, I'll be checking my cell phone."

"We'll miss you," Jay said immediately.

"I'll miss you guys, too," I said. "I'll keep you updated. The camp where we go is midway between Fort Freeland and Fort Augusta, so I'm assuming there may be some Revoluntionary War ghosts there."

"Gonna do some hunting while you're there?" asked Lex.

I nodded. "I usually find something cool to investigate when I'm away."

"I'm sorry, you can't check in early today," said the park ranger. "There's a tree down, and it took our power. We're working on getting it fixed. I'm sorry."
"Well, that's not your fault," I said. "We'll just kill a little time and come back."

Michelle and I walked out to the car. She asked,"Is there anything you wanted to do?"

"Kind of wanted to see Fort Augusta while I'm here," I said. "It's in Sunbury."

"Okay, what's the address?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "I didn't think it was going to be this easy."

It took a little time, but we had plenty of that, and in a while, I was walking up to the front of Fort Augusta. Or at least, where it had stood. There was a museum and a replica of the fort there now, and I cruised around, taking some photos.

I got out my EMF detector and checked around. Nothing right away. I saw a small sign directing me to the old well from the actual fort, which struck me as interesting, so I walked over. It was amazing; a well that was two hundred and seventy years old, right here along Front Street. Not far behind it was the old powder magazine, and I got some EMF readings there. I took photos and walked back to the car.

"Did you see what you wanted to see?" asked Michelle.

I  nodded. "I got photos and a few readings; I'm happy. We can go see if the campsite's open yet."

"Can we get something to eat first?" asked Paul.

The camp was a Yogi Bear camp, which I'd never heard of until I married Michelle. They were very kid-friendly camps with lots of activities. All of which Paul and his little friend Amelia took one look at, and then decamped for the pool.

I got out some of the ghost-hunting equipment and decided to just test around randomly a bit. The cabin was a nice one, right along one of the main stretches, and there seemed to be a small family right next door.

"Nice shirt," the mom said to me.

"Oh. Thanks." It was the one with the ghost drinking coffee. "I'm a paranormal investigator."

"Oh, that's cool."

"You hunt ghosts?" asked the little boy.

"Yeah, I investigate ghosts, UFOs, monsters, all sorts of stuff."

"There's a ghost up by the bathrooms at the pool! I saw it making the door move!"
"Oh, yeah?" I smiled.

"I'm Lily," said the girl. "This is Max. He likes ghosts and stuff."

"That's cool. Me, too."
"He's always digging in our yard for buried treasure. I fall in the holes and trip."
"I'm told Indiana Jones's sister had the same problem. You guys are, what, six, seven?"

Lily looked impressed. "I'm seven and he's six. You're pretty good at that."

"I got a kid. Max, I'm gonna check up around the doors there later, and see what I can find." It occurred to me that I was talking about ghosts to two children who were about to sleep in the woods. "This place is right between two forts that were built about two hundred and fifty years ago."

"That's when America was started!" said Lily delightedly.

"You're right, it was. And I think any ghosts here might be soldiers, so they were probably pretty good guys."

"Not mean," said Lily.

"No, that's usually not what happens. Most ghosts are pretty cool. I'll let you guys know what I find, okay?"

It was my first lead, so after dinner, I walked up with the EMF detector and looked around. I walked down around the two ponds---The frog pond and the fish pond, though the frogs didn't seem to consider any one pond exclusively their territory. I stood pleasantly by the fish pond for a moment, then walked up to the area Max had described. And the EMF detector lit right up.

I was a little surprised. I checked for power lines, underground cables, engines. Nothing that stood out. In spurts, though, I was getting EMFs. 

I smiled. Max was going to love it.

I walked down to the other end of the park, and into the ranger station. A blue-haired short woman was working the counter; her name tag said MEGAN.

"Hey hey," she said. "How are you doing?"
"So far, so good. Got an odd question for you."
"Okay."

"Are there any interesting haunted stories around? Ghosts, Bigfoot sightings, anything like that?" Was a time I'd felt stupid asking things like that, but that was a long time in my past.

She grinned. "Have you heard of the Todd Sees case?"

"I have not."

She tapped the screen of her phone and handed it to me. I looked it over.

It detailed a missing person---Todd Sees of Northumberland County had disappeared in early August of 2002. A search party had failed to find him for over a day, until a helicopter had spotted his body from the air. His clothes and all his gear were missing. His body had been found in a very dense, hard to reach area under some power lines. Locals reported seeing UFOs near the power lines, which had led to some rumors of alien abductions. I read through it, fascinated.

"This is perfect," I said. "UFOs, a missing person, and it happened right around here on this very weekend twenty-two years ago? This is the perfect campfire story. Thank you, Megan. This is gold."

A bit later, I sat on the front porch of the cabin, and did what I like to do when I'm away from home. I called Chloe.

The kid had promised to pick up the phone when I called, unless she was driving---She'd recently gotten her permit. I tried to call her for information, though the truth is, I always like to have someone to talk to back home. It makes me feel a bit better. For the past year, I'd designated Chloe.

"Hey!" She sounded cheerful. "How are you doing?"

'Doing good. We're here and safe. No big rush, but I need you to look up something for me."

"Sure! You name it."

"Todd Sees. He's a big mystery around here, and I need you to find anything I may have missed. Whenever you get to it; don't drop everything, okay?"

"Won't be hard. I'll get that to you soon. Can I text this number?"

"Sure. It's my cell---It won't get photos or anything, but just words, sure."

"I'll have that to you soon."

"Thanks, Chloe. Love you."

"Love you too."

It took the kid less than an hour. My phone made a noise, and there it was, everything Chloe had dug up for me. And it was weird, allright.

Twenty-two years ago this weekend, Todd Sees had gone missing while out hunting. A search party of over two hundred people had failed to find any trace of him. Finally, a helicopter had seen his body in some brush under a power line, wearing only his underwear. No trace of the clothes had ever been found. The body was in a very hard to reach spot, among heavy brush.

Local fishermen and farmers had reported seeing lights in the sky near those same power lines, behaving strangely and causing the lines to spark. The FBI had jumped in at this point, oddly, taking the body for an autopsy and keeping it for eight weeks. No official cause of death was ever determined, and the FBI had finally blamed it on cocaine.

Chloe had included the report from the National UFO Reporting Center, with a little note saying she wasn't sure how accurate it was. I grinned. She was well aware of how hard I was on other investigators' standards, but NUFORC is actually pretty good.

Max walked by the porch. "I saw a shadow figure that wasn't from us," he told me.

I smiled. "I'll make sure to check that out, too. Thanks."

The sun was beginning to go down. I could, I supposed, do a little investigating. Or I could go inside the cabin and watch TV.

Ten minutes later, I was out in the woods north of camp wearing my shoulder bag. There were trails on the camp property, and I'd taken one of the loops. Then I'd slipped off onto another trail leading north, off amp property, until I'd gotten to somewhere near where Sees had disappeared.

Flashlight in one hand. EMF detector in the other. I turned it on and walked around. After a few passes, it lit up red and beeped. No power lines close enough to set it off, no batteries nearby. Could possibily be the ghost of Todd Sees.

And that had been the easier part. Next up, the UFOs.

Paul and Amelia were in the back room, building forts out of their bunks by hanging the sheets on the top bunks and threading glow sticks into the beds. I watched for a while, then went outside to the path.

I could see the power lines across the mountains in the distance, likely the same power lines where Sees was found. How the hell does that happen, anyway? How do you get lost near power lines, even on cocaine? You just follow them for a while, and they'll always lead to someplace. The more I thought about all this, the less sense it made.

I walked along the path toward the ponds, keeping an eye on the mountains. A few times, I pulled out my optical scope and looked out at the lines. Then I remembered to remove the goddamned lens cap. There were four towers up there, holding up the lines, with blinking red lights. I walked to the pool area, and back, judging the view.

And, in the end, the best place to look was from right on the front porch of the cabin.

I sat down with the scope, lifted it, and found out immediately that it was too dark and I couldn't see shit. So I put it away and watched without it.

The thing about UFOs is they're kind of hard to investigate. You can go to the site and check for clues, but when it happened two decades ago, there's not much point. I immediately did another step, which was to send Chloe a message asking her to find out where all the airports and hospitals were---That might explain unusual lights in the sky. Back in 2002, drones weren't a consideration. So I settled in to do the next step  could think of---Stake the damn thing out and see what I noticed. Designate this one NC-02.

So for the next two hours, I sat on the porch with a cup of microwave coffee, my equipment, and a copy of one of my favorite books. (Steel Beach by John Varley.) I read a bit, got interrupted by Paul a bit, and kept a watch for anything unusual on the mountain near the power lines.

I sat for the next couple of hours, and nothing happened. I hadn't really expected it to, but sometimes you get lucky. 

Finally I gave it up for the night and went to bed.

The next day, it was pouring. I climbed out of bed and had to put on my waterproof LHPS jacket to go get a shower. When I got back I made another cup of coffee and heated up a burrito I'd brought for specifically that purpose, and then retreated back to the porch.

I thought things over while I waited, and none of it made any sense. He'd gotten lost, apparently, in a reasonably populated place with plenty of landmarks. From these mountains, there was civilization around within a hike of a couple hours, tops. His clothes and equipment had been missing, and never found, which is weird to begin with. Even if the lights were unrelated, it was a strange coincidence.

There's a phenomenon called paradoxical undressing, where hypothermia victims remove their clothes, but I didn't find hypothermia to be much of a possibility in early August. And how far could he have gotten without clothes and shoes anyway?

At some point, Paul rousted himself and came out on the porch. Blearily, he looked out at the weather.

"It's raining," he noticed.

I nodded. "Probably gonna be like this all day."

"Can we go shopping?"

"I don't have anything else to do. It's okay with me if it's okay with your mom."

We drove into Selinsgrove, and I convinced the family to let me off at a thrift store while they went to Wal-Mart. I managed to score a pair of nice slip-on shoes and pajama pants with skulls on them. Then we drove over to a nearby mall, which apparently is still a thing.

As we walked through the mall, Paul looked over at a shop that seemed to be all about cryptids. "Hey, Dad," he said.

I veered off and walked in. There was a Mothman sculpture by the door, and Bigfoot shirts hanging everywhere. I liked it. The owners were behind their counter, and a flat-nosed dog came to greet me.

"Oh," I said, and knelt down to pet her. "You're a cutie."

She licked my face.

"That's Raven," said the owner. "She loves everyone."

"So, you guys do cryptids," I said, stepping up to the counter. "Are you familiar with the Giwoggle?"

The woman smiled. "I'm not. I thought I knew them all."

"That one's pretty obscure. It's the official cryptid of Clinton County."

She typed on her laptop, and said,"Oh, here it is. Are you Lou?"

"I am. I wrote most of the Giwoggle stuff."

"You're a writer?"
"Freelance. PA Wilds and NCPA, mostly."

"You know, we work with Strange Knocks magazine," she said. "The editor has been looking for content. Would you be interested?"

I handed her my card. "Sure, I wouldn't mind. I'm not even all that picky about the money. Get in touch." I picked up a couple of Squonk stickers. "I'll take these, too."

When we got back, it was still raining. But they appeared to have opened the splash pad, which Paul took one look at and lit up.

"The splash pad is open! I'm going over!" And the kid who takes forever to get ready for school was in his swimsuit in four seconds, and racing for the pad.

I sat down on the porch with the scope, and sighted it in again. I checked the power lines on the mountain, and had a good enough view through the fog. I zoomed in on the slide tower over at the splash pad, and saw Paul at the top. He saw me looking at him through the scope, and held up two fingers, peace-sign style. 

I grinned and returned the sign, and he disappeared down the slide.

So apparently we had a new thing.

When it got dark, I called Chloe again.

"How's it going?"

"Having fun. Miss you guys; looking forward to getting home." This kid had started out as just The Kid On My Tours, years ago. And then, last year, she'd become my sidekick and occasional coffee meet-up, and now, finally, my teammate and one of my best friends in the world.

"I can understand that. How's the mystery going?"

"I think I'm gonna have to file this one as unsolved for now," I admitted. "I've tried what I can from here, but nothing makes any sense. I'm going to have to work on this one again next time I'm out here."

"It is an interesting one."

"Thanks for your help. Couldn't do it without you."

"It was the least I could do, after all you've done for me,"

"By the way, I'm bringing you a little gift when I get home," I said. "See you soon."